Payroll giving: I’m an employer
Find out how payroll giving works and how it benefits your company.
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Payroll giving lets you donate to your favourite charities and causes straight from your pay. It’s taken before tax but after National Insurance, so charities get more of your donation and it costs you less.
This means part of your donation comes from money that would otherwise have been claimed by HMRC.
This page has been written using the example of Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) as the Payroll Giving agency. Other agencies are available. HMRC has a list of approved Payroll Giving agencies.
- Check with HR or your Payroll Manager if your company is signed up to CAF Give As You Earn or another Payroll Giving agency.
- If the answer’s yes, any employee can join the Payroll Giving scheme
- If the answer’s no, contact your chosen agency to get signed up. To sign up with Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), please contact their Customer Service or complete their quick application form.
- Make deductions each time you run payroll. The donation will be taken from your employees’ pay after National Insurance, but before tax.
- Send these donations to your CAF Charity Account. CAF will manage your donations and pass them onto your chosen charities.
Employers can match monthly payroll donations from their employees. This is an amazing way of doubling what your employees are giving to charity and helping your company fulfil your Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR).
Not all companies are signed up to this, so please check with your HR or Payroll Manager to find out more.
Every agency will have their own fees. Here’s an example from CAF:
- The Scout Association has a CAF Charity Account, so a small fee’s taken each time you donate.
- If your company supports a local Scout Group that doesn’t have a CAF Charity Account, CAF will take an admin fee of 4% (capped at a maximum of £10 per pay period) for direct donations to the Scout Group.
Employers can choose to pay these fees on behalf of their employees. Please check with your HR or Payroll Manager.
Support Scouts in the UK (The Scout Association)
With your monthly donations, Scouts can create new programmes and activities, support young people in areas of deprivation, undertake important research in childhood development with projects like the Early Years programme, and so much more.
Sign up to our newsletter to stay up to date on how your donations help young people learn skills for life.
5 great things about payroll giving
1. It’s tax-efficient. Donations are taken straight from the employee’s pay – after National Insurance, but before Income Tax.
Example: £30 payroll giving donation
The cost to you monthly as a 20% tax rate payer = £24.00
The cost to you monthly as a 40% tax rate payer = £18.00
The cost to you monthly as a 45% tax rate payer = £16.50
2. Charities often rely on regular gifts – steady income through payroll giving’s really important to Scouts. We can continue providing safe and exciting programmes, activities and resources to young people across the UK.
3. Donations can double with match funding – some employers offer match funding for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
4. Payroll giving reduces admin costs for charities – payroll giving’s quick and cheap for Scouts to process through CAF Give As You Earn, so your donations can go further to help young people who need it most.
5. Charities can develop partnerships with companies – we’ve got lots of partnerships opportunities available if your company is interested in working with youth organisations. To find out more, please email partnerships@scouts.org.uk.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about setting up your company with payroll giving, how your donations support young people or anything else, the Fundraising team’s on hand to help.
Email the Scouts Fundraising Team
£10 a month could...
fund the activity costs for walking boots, rucksacks, costs and hiking bags for a young person to complete their Duke of Edinburgh awards and outdoor adventures.
£20 a month could...
fund the cost of 12 young people from areas of deprivation to go on a night’s away experience (that’s almost a whole Section!*).
*Average UK Section size is 14 young people.
£30 a month could...
fund the cost of a young person’s Scout place for a whole year, based on a Section size of 14 young people. This includes their membership fees, equipment for fun-filled activities and more.